Mousavi Seyede Maryam: Improving the performance and stability of Perovskite solar cells through the integration of added functions: 3000 eur ( 2025)

I began my work by focusing on improving the performance of perovskite solar cells through light-managing layers and bio-based composites. While these strategies improved efficiency and photostability, the cells still faced challenges from optical losses and environmental instability. To tackle both issues at once, we developed an in-situ encapsulation technique that incorporates patterns directly into the solar cells’ encapsulation. Inspired by the surface structure of leek leaves, which provides light scattering and self-cleaning, we replicated this pattern on the front surface of the cells during encapsulation. This approach not only saves time and reduces fabrication costs but also enables an 8% relative efficiency improvement and protects the solar cells from moisture and oxygen under the windy and freezing conditions typical of Finnish winters. My research work has been an exciting collaboration between Aalto University, Tampere University, and the PV-Lab at EPFL. 

Graphical abstract of the in-situ encapsulation and patterning project [1]

a) Schematic of the architecture of the perovskite solar cells used in this study b) Encapsulated perovskite solar cell fabricated using the in-situ encapsulation and surface patterning technique [1] 

An encapsulated perovskite solar cell after 24 hours of aging test under −17 °C and maximum wind speeds of 7 m/s on average[1].

Photo credit: Maija Vaara, Mithila Mohan, Aalto university 

I feel fortunate that in Finland, various foundations offer research-oriented funding opportunities, which allowed me to secure support for my research within the Multifunctional Materials Design group over the past four years. With the guidance and kind support of my supervisor, Prof. Jaana Vapaavuori, and advisor, Prof. Imran Asghar, I have been able to build my own research direction from the scratch. 

Particularly, the support from the Walter Ahlström Foundation has had a direct and important impact on this work. Thanks to the generous support of the Walter Ahlström Foundation, I participated in PVSEC-36, where I shared our findings on multifunctional light-managing composites and was honoured to receive the Best Presentation Award. The funding also supported my visit to PV-Lab at EPFL – Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne, where I gained hands-on experience fabricating high efficiency perovskite cells, explored the state of the art, and investigated Finnish plant microstructures as sustainable light management layers for solar cells. This journey has opened new directions in bio inspired optical engineering, and we are now summarizing the results for publication.

[1] Mousavi, S. M., Shirazi, H. D., Ranta, R., Asghar, M. I., Kasurinen, S., Halme, J., & Vapaavuori, J. (2024). Addressing the efficiency loss and degradation of triple cation perovskite solar cells via integrated light managing encapsulation. Materials Today Energy, 46, 101707.